The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1887-08-04
SOMETHING ABOUT WoLlNs.
The Lost Secret of the Crcmona VAR
nish--Bows, Rosin, and Strings.

The Lost Secret of the Crcmona Var
nish-Bows, Rosin, and strings.
Says writer in The Providence
Journal: For three-quarters Of cent
ury violin makers have been striving TO
rediscover the lost art Of compromising
and applying what is called ''Cremona
varnish."
"The lost secret Is this: The
Cremona is two varnishcs. and those
varnishes always heterogeneous that
is to say. first the pores of the wood arc
filled and the grain shown up by one.
by two. by three. and sometimes,
though rarely. by four coats of fine oil
varnish. with some common but clear
gum in solution. Then upon this oil
varnish, when dry, Is laid heterogen-
Gus varnish-viz., q solution in spirit
of some sovereign, highcolored, pei
lucid, and above all. render gum,
Gumlac, which for forty years has been
the mainstay of violin-makers. must
never be used; not one atom of it. That
vile, flinty gum killed varnish at Naples
and Piacenza hundred and forty
years ago. as it kills varnish now. Old
Cremona stunned it, and whoever en-
ploys grain of 1t commits willful
suicide as Cremonese varnisher.
The deep red varnsh of Cremona is
pure dragons blood-not the cake, the
stick, the filthy trash which, in this sim
full and adultering generation, is re-
tailed under the name, but the tear of
dragons blood, little Jumps deeper in
color than carbuncle, clear as crystal,
and fiery as ruby. Unadulterated
dragons blood does not exist in COM
merce west of Temple bar; but you can
get it by cropping in the city as hard rs
Diogenes had to grope for an honest
man in much less knavish town than
London. The yellow varnish is the
unadulterated tear of another gum,
retailed in cake like dragons blood.
and as great a fraud. All cakes and
sticks presented to you in commerce as
gums are audacious swindies. A true
gum is the tear of the tree. For the
yellow tear as for the red, grope the city
harder than Diogenes."
While the varnish of violin is fire.
quently its chief beauty, to apply it as
did the Cremonese would be too slow
a process for this high pressure age.
The substances used should possess
sufficient elasticity to yield to the
slight expansion or contraction OF the
fibers in the extremes of temperature.
and from the first prevent decay. Var
nishers of the present day commonly
begin their task by applying a sizing
of gamboge, aloes, and spirits of wine,
which is carefully laid on with camers
hair brush. Then follow perhaps a
dozen coatings of the varnish proper,
| which may consist Of mastic. brittle
dammar, and the pigment prepared in
some essential oil. When the desired
shade is reached small percentage Of
pure linseed oil may be added. After
filtering the mixture it is ready for use.
Each coat should be rubbed smooth be-
fore another is added. The best period
for vanishing is from July to Septemb-
er. The materials used in construction
affect the brilliancy of varnish. Swiss
deal and Tyrolese pine show the
beauties of light and shade excellently,
as do some selections of American
spruce and maple. Any wood presents
brighter appearance if vanished
after the last touches of the smooth
ing-iron, emitting both sandpaper and
emery-cloth.
Without bow the leading instru-
| ment Is reduced to status beneath the
guitar. Soon after the violin became
of established utility, ingenuity was
displayed in making appropriate bows.
In the seventeenth century the first
specimens worthy of the name appear
ed. The next hundred years brought
improvements in adjusting the strain
of the hair and 80 shaping the wood as
to increase its elasticity. The king of
bowmakers was born in Paris, 1747;
his name Francis Tourte. He was ear
| ly in life clockmaker's apprentice,
and is said never to have known how to
read and write; but he appreciated the
necessity of better bows than violinists
could procure. Experiments develop
ed the fact that Pernambuco wood best
combined requisite strength, spring,
and lightness for perfect article. In
his day, as now. the wood was import
ed for dyeing purposes. 1t is difficult
to obtain in desirable donditon, hav-
ing many crooks, knots, and cracks
within the sticks. Always expensive,
in Tourte's day it often costs 5 shillings
pound. He decided on total length
of twenty-nine and one half inches, the
haired part having an available surface
of twenty-six. The bow to be of value
must be bent by heat so applied that the
inner fbres of the wood are thoroughly
affected, or the shape will soon be lost.
The horse-lfair requires as much care
in selection as the wood. Each strand
should be equally cylindrical throughout
its length. The hair is secured with
alkalies, washed in bran water, and
finally cleaned in water slightly tinged
with blue. Tourte put about two humid
red hairs in each bow and employed
ingenious devices for fastening then
Mt either end. His finest specimens
were fluted and richly ornamented, anc
carefully balanced in all parts. Sucf
were sold for an equivalent of $50 IL
our money. Less elaborate bows netted
him $15. which is the price asked
for similar manufactures to-day. A
very satisfactory bow can be bought al
So to $5. Many are sold that cost 81. 81
per dozen. The addition of half OF
| ovnu nuartor Of an o,nco II, n b<,xv, Lo